The new 2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 puts you into the video game

The new 2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 puts you into the video game

Share

The cheapest way into the AMG brand is the new 2019 Mercedes-AMG A35, but cheapest doesn’t mean the Affalterbach folk have skimped on performance or equipment – it can even project a virtual driving line…

Hey, we all have to get started somewhere, and as far as these things go 306 horsepower is not a bad place to start – the Affalterbach folk have just launched a new entry-level model called the 2019 Mercedes-AMG A35, and it’s the latest A-Class hatch souped up to leave some room for more.

An updated 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine develops 306bhp and 400Nm of torque from 3,000rpm, which is put to all four wheels and good for 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds. See going with the seven-speed double-clutch transmission and you’ll top out at a limited 250km/h.

As the latest expansion in the AMG line-up of fast Mercs, the new A35 will be the cheapest way in, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be cheap – it seems a safe bet to expect a price in the UAE of $60,000, or AED220,000 once the car arrives later next year.

An all-wheel drive system includes five driving modes to choose from, and for a moment we thought the Germans had some fun making this car and included a new ‘Slippery’ mode in the AMG Dynamic Select program, but it’s just the mode for rain. Sport+ mode meanwhile comes with all the usual farts and bangs from the exhausts and the rev-matching on the downshifts.

AMG has also thrown in a new adaptive steering system and torque vectoring system that works by braking inside rear wheels. For the stopping power the A35 gets brakes as big as the outgoing A45 AMG, 350mm discs up front and 330mm rears.

As a cherry on top, you can also have the new AMG Track Pace app as an option, which records all your driving and has 3D maps of loads of tracks around the word, with the possibility of projecting the ideal driving line on the optional head-up display.